Finch announces sale of Phoenix Racing

Buyer to hold press conference Friday or Monday

Phoenix Racing owner James Finch watches action on pit road after this year's Coca-Cola 600 was red-flagged due to a camera malfunction at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

DEAN HENSLEY/ TIMES-NEWS

By JASON SHOOTHalifax Media Group

Published: Thursday, July 18, 2013 at 4:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, July 17, 2013 at 9:43 p.m.

LYNN HAVEN, Fla. — It’s sold.

With those two words, James Finch announced the sale of Phoenix Racing on Wednesday. Finch declined to name the buyer, explaining that the new owner of the Spartanburg-based team preferred to make an announcement of his own either Friday or Monday.

“I can’t tell you yet,” Finch said.

Finch added that he will assist the new owner through the Sprint Cup race at Atlanta on Sept. 1. That race will mark the end of Finch’s 23-year run as a Sprint Cup and Nationwide team owner.

“They wanted the help,” Finch said. “They’ve never run any Cup races or anything like that, so I’m going to help them. I don’t want to say a whole lot. They’ve got a sponsorship and a driver they want to introduce later in the year.”

Finch had been exploring the sale of his team for the past few years, too often running races without a primary sponsor.

“I’ve been doing it a long time,” he said. “I’d recommend anybody to do it. If I was (younger) I’d do it again. I’ve met a lot of people and had a great time doing it. It’s just time to move on.”

<p>LYNN HAVEN, Fla. — It's sold.</p><p>With those two words, James Finch announced the sale of Phoenix Racing on Wednesday. Finch declined to name the buyer, explaining that the new owner of the Spartanburg-based team preferred to make an announcement of his own either Friday or Monday.</p><p>“I can't tell you yet,” Finch said.</p><p>Finch added that he will assist the new owner through the Sprint Cup race at Atlanta on Sept. 1. That race will mark the end of Finch's 23-year run as a Sprint Cup and Nationwide team owner.</p><p>“They wanted the help,” Finch said. “They've never run any Cup races or anything like that, so I'm going to help them. I don't want to say a whole lot. They've got a sponsorship and a driver they want to introduce later in the year.”</p><p>Finch had been exploring the sale of his team for the past few years, too often running races without a primary sponsor.</p><p>“I've been doing it a long time,” he said. “I'd recommend anybody to do it. If I was (younger) I'd do it again. I've met a lot of people and had a great time doing it. It's just time to move on.”</p>